For the fifth consecutive year, Colorado Parks and Wildlife is encouraging hunters to take a friend hunting. Hunters who share their expertise and love for hunting with a pupil are eligible for prizes through the Take a Friend Hunting Contest.

This season’s contest opened Aug. 1 and will remain open until Feb. 28, 2024.  A prize drawing will be conducted by March 31, 2024.​ There will be multiple winners with prizes including binoculars, trigger sticks, butcher kits, game calls, range finders, gift cards and more.

Hunting is a hobby that feels out of reach for many. Equipment can be expensive and the specific knowledge is hard to obtain on your own. When hunters pass along their knowledge and lend others equipment, it makes hunting more accessible for novices.

“I often run into people wanting to hunt but they just don’t know how to start. Most of them just need a mentor to help out,” said Parks and Wildlife Hunter Outreach Coordinator Bryan Posthumus. “It is so easy to ask your friends, co-workers or family if they want to hunt and help them get started.”

The contest is simple. For hunters, simply bring a friend hunting. Teams will then submit a photograph and a brief story regarding the experience for a chance to win prizes. Submissions will be judged by their ability to inspire and are due by February 28, 2024.

Eligibility rules

• Mentor and student must both be at least 18 years old to participate.
• Contest participants must follow all applicable Colorado hunting regulations which includes the possession of all appropriate licenses.
• Mentors must hold a valid 2023 Colorado hunting license and have held a Colorado hunting license in at least three of the last five years (2018-22).
• Novices must have never had a hunting license until 2023, only had a hunting license in 2022, or have not had a hunting license in the past five years (2018-22).
• Hunters must commit to mentoring an eligible hunter in Colorado on at least three separate occasions. This includes any part of the mentoring process: scouting, testing or purchasing gear, practice with firearms, archery, game processing or cooking. One of the occasions must also be taking the mentee hunting.
• Employees of Parks and Wildlife, immediate family and household members of each employee are not eligible for the contest.

For more information, visit Parks and Wildlife’s website.